Background: Individuals with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are at greater risk of contact with the criminal justice system. Diagnosis and appropriate treatment of SLCN reduces these risks, leading to better life outcomes for the individual as well as broader social and economic benefits. These youth represent a particularly…

'Vulnerability' is a key concept used to understand the ethical implications of conducting refugee-focused research. This case study illustrates the need to follow Luna's (2009) call for a shift from a 'labels' to a 'layers' approach to vulnerability by analysing how two university ethics committees responded to issues of informed consent in two…

Background: One would assume that infection outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic have a deleterious effect upon the physical, mental, and/or social functioning of people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Methods: A systematic search of four databases produced 18 articles. General information pertaining to the topics under consideration,…

Data specifically comparing outcomes for people with and without intellectual disability is limited. This paper reports perceived health and wellbeing of older Australians resident in metropolitan and rural locations in New South Wales and Queensland. Respondents were community-residing individuals with intellectual disability and mainstream age…

For refugees, education provides life-changing opportunities, including tools for effective social integration. This study explores higher education (HE) participation among refugee-background African youth in Australia. Drawing on policy review, national HE statistics and population census data, and using theoretical insights from critical…

Often included within 'high-risk sibling' studies, the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI) has only one independent replication study and no evaluation with community-ascertained cohorts. We administered the AOSI and established clinical measures with 103 infants (68% male) at 'high autism likelihood' on the Social Attention and…

The goal of this study was to test nonverbal intelligence and neighborhood social capital as protective factors against future delinquency in early adolescent youth placed at risk by virtue of their involvement in childhood conduct problems. Analyzing longitudinal data from 3,028 youth (1,565 boys, 1,463 girls) in one cohort of the Longitudinal…

Children's social lives are mediated increasingly by digital tools, thereby making new modes of home-school-world relationships possible. In this context, children's digital out-of-school social practices continue to be associated with risk. Children are construed as an "at risk" and vulnerable population by adults who frame children's…

As researchers working within a neoliberalist academic regime propagated by discourses of responsibilisation, risk and prudentialism, we experienced a dilemma about whether to publicly present views expressed by research participants that critiqued the policy position of the government department that funded the research. Our dilemma was…

Rejection sensitivity is a bias toward expecting rejection that can result from negative social experiences and degrade emotional adjustment. In this study, rejection sensitivity was expected to predict patterns of adolescent social anxiety over 5 years when considered alongside other known or expected risk and protective factors: peer rejection…

Adolescents in the care of the state have complex developmental needs that include low academic attainment. The aim of this study was to describe the language and literacy profiles of adolescents (aged 13-19) in out-of-home care ('looked after children'). Mental health status, biopsychosocial history, and education and employment histories were…

Specific features of adult linguistic input may play a larger, or smaller role, at different child ages, across different language outcomes, in different cohorts. This prospective, longitudinal study explored associations between the quantity and quality (i.e. diversity and responsiveness) of maternal linguistic input and child language. This…

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vulnerabilities and inequalities of national education systems and hindered the education of millions of children globally. In response, the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Centre, which is a long-term, strategic partnership between the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the…

Relationships young children have with caring adults are important in mitigating the effects of adversity in early childhood. Facilitating parents' learning is central to support that helps parents cope with difficult circumstances. Within this, a focus on parent-child relationships is crucial. This presents significant challenges to…

The aim of the present study was to examine the cross-cultural differences in the relationship between personality traits and neurasthenia across early adolescence. The participants were from Australia and China. Adolescents' personality was measured by the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and neurasthenia was measured by the Somatic and…